UN Security Council is set to vote on the fifth resolution on Israel-Hamas war. Malta’s top diplomat confirmed the UN Security Council resolution vote in a post on X.
In the post, Ian Borg said that the draft resolution introduced yesterday is “in blue”, meaning it has reached its final form before being introduced for a vote.
The Foreign Affairs Minister said the vote on the resolution, which calls for “extended humanitarian pauses” with a particular emphasis on protecting children, will happen at 3pm local time in New York (20:00 GMT) today.
“Over the past week, [Malta’s UN mission] has been working tirelessly on a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation of children in Gaza,” he wrote.
“We have listened to Council members & other interested parties to ensure a balanced & operational text,” he added.
The resolution, introduced by Malta, calls for “extended humanitarian pauses”, unfettered aid delivery, medical evacuations, protection of civilians, especially children,and the unconditional release of captives held in Gaza.
It also stresses the need for all parties to comply with international humanitarian law.
It demands compliance with international law, specifically the and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups.
It does not condemn the actions of Hamas, a point of contention for the US, an Israel ally. Still, some diplomats cited by Reuters said they expected the resolution to pass, albeit with a number of abstentions.
Four previous votes related to the conflict have failed in the Security Council, where the Untied States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom wield veto power as permanent members of the 15-member body.
An initial Brazil-drafted resolution calling for humanitarian pauses was vetoed by the U.S for failing to “mention Israel’s right of self-defence.” A subsequent US-drafted resolution, which stated Israel’s “right to self-defence” but did not call for humanitarian pauses, was vetoed by Russia and China.
Two subsequent Russian draft resolutions were not vetoed, but did not attain the nine votes needed to be approved by the council.
The latest resolution also does not state Israel’s “right to self-defence,” making it unclear how the US would vote.
Some of the diplomats said they expected the 15-member council to adopt the resolution, though some countries were likely to abstain.
A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no veto by any of the permanent security council members, which are the US, the UK, Russia, China and France.
Separately, Martin Griffiths, the UN’s humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, called on Israel to open the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza for humanitarian aid.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, he said that the crossing had been used to carry more than 60% of the truckloads going into Gaza before the conflict erupted last month.
“Kerem Shalom, please Israel, give us that for our crossing point,” he said.
Currently, the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border is the only one open for the transport of aid into Gaza.
UN Human Rights Office Express Concern Over Fuel Shortage In Gaza
Fuel underpins access to and provision of all humanitarian services in Gaza, said the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory.
“Without it, access by the people of Gaza to life-saving humanitarian assistance will all but cease,” the UN agency said.
The agency is already seeing a “cascading collapse in water, sewage, and sanitation services, telecoms, food shortages, and healthcare” in the Gaza Strip, it said.
The office added that in addition to allowing fuel into the besieged coastal enclave, Israel must also enable access to Gaza through the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing under its control.
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